RBZ
in $450m gold row

An explosive
row has erupted between the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ), Saudi Arabian
mineral and jewellery dealer Sulaim Al Othaim and local tycoon David Butau
over a controversial $450-million deal designed to rescue government from
bankruptcy at the height of the economic meltdown.

The dispute over the
2006 deal has been running for five years but has now exploded into the
public domain as Al Othaim and Butau demand payment from the RBZ, which is
refusing to pay up, saying it was not implemented as originally
agreed.

There have also been allegations of fraud and betrayal.

In
terms of the agreement, Al Othaim was supposed to buy gold from the RBZ for
its factories in Riyadh, the Saudi capital. The company is involved in
wholesale distribution of jewellery, precious stones and watches. There was
also a plan to create a strategic partnership between Al Othaim, which also
owns shopping malls, retail outlets and colleges, and the RBZ's subsidiary
Aurex Jewellery.

Al Othaim was supposed to provide the RBZ with a
multi-draw letter of credit for the delivery of 200000 ounces of gold, a
cash deposit for 315000 ounces and a bank guarantee for $150-million. The
Central Bank was supposed to supply 515000 ounces of gold within nine to 12
months at London Metal Exchange-fixed prices and at a 34% discount. In
total, the deal was valued at $450-million.

Butau was involved as
facilitator through Dande Capital Holdings where he is executive chairman.
SA's Rand Merchant Bank was to provide structured finance, including
handling cash deposits and cash guarantees.

Local bank CBZ, together with
its clients, Dande Capital, played a facilitation role and was to be paid
for that.

It was agreed that any disputes would be dealt with in
accordance with the laws of the UK, Switzerland and Netherlands, not
Zimbabwe or Saudi Arabia. Some parties involved in the deal now claim it was
"a scandal wholly prejudicial to government". Documents show there are
allegations of fraud and siphoning-off of gold proceeds.

"The
unfortunate thing about this deal is that in effect it amounted to direct
fraud through under-pricing of gold deliveries by the RBZ to Al Othaim. The
extent of prejudice was 34% of the gold parcel delivered. How can a precious
metal like gold be sold at 34% discount when we all know gold is just as
good as hard currency," says one of the documents seen by the Sunday
Times.

"Besides, there was an impression created that President Robert
Mugabe had authorised the deal when he had not. How would the president
allow gold to be sold at 34% discount? In the end total gold delivered
amounted to $5.072-million and applying the 34% discount, there was a total
prejudice of $1.6-million."

To exacerbate the situation, Butau has
been demanding $1.5-million from the RBZ in "facilitation fees".

In a
letter dated February 16 to RBZ governor Gideon Gono, Butau demanded
$800000. The RBZ paid him $200 000.

However, in another letter dated
November 2, Butau demanded his balance of $1.3-million, threatening legal
action to recover the money.

The RBZ is also in another dispute with Al
Othaim over a $1.6-million debt.

But on Friday Gono's office hit back,
saying those claiming fraud and demanding payments were misrepresenting
facts and had hidden agendas "bordering on extortion and
rent-seeking".

"The governor is aware that life without money is hard
these days and times are difficult. This is made worse by the fact that
Christmas is around the corner," Gono's spokesman Alson Mfiri said.
"Unfortunately, the RBZ does not play the role of Father Christmas as some
of these demands suggest through ridiculous claims.

"Several letters
of demand have been written to the bank, laced with threats and loaded with
political overtones, but the governor will not entertain such frivolous
claims. All those aggrieved must approach the courts for remedies," Mfiri
said.

Gono
aide sues paper for US$5mln

AN ADVISER to central bank chief, Gideon Gono is suing The
Standard newspaper for US$5 million after the weekly accused him of raping
his 12-year-old niece.

In a report published last week The Standard
claimed Dr Munyaradzi Kereke – who has accused reporters at the publication
of soliciting bribes from him -- was trying to conceal the incident which
allegedly took place at his Harare home last year.However, Kereke denies
the allegations in papers now before the High Court.

Citing Standard
Press, Munn Marketing, the paper’s editor, Nevanji Madanhire and the writer
of the article, Kereke said the allegations were defamatory and inspired by
malice.

“The said statements, publications and words in the context of
the articles are wrongful and defamatory in that they were intended and were
understood by the readers of the newspaper, nationally and internationally,
to mean that; the plaintiff is abusing his office and position in society to
suppress the alleged rape case and is, therefore, not a law-abiding citizen
and he can do anything to subvert the course of justice, including
influencing the police and the Attorney-General,” Kereke said.

“The
plaintiff is a threat and danger to society and, pointedly, a dangerous
homicidal criminal who can use firearms to threaten and subdue any pressure
from his victims or victim’s allies.”

In its report, The Standard
claimed that although the alleged assault was reported at Highlands police
station and witness statements recorded from the victim in November last
year, no progress had been made in bringing the matter to court.

The
girl’s lawyer was also said to have written to the Officer-in-Charge of
Borrowdale Police Station expressing concern over the apparent delays in
prosecuting the case.

“We note with concern that you do not seem to
want to take any action in this matter and we are by copy of this letter
requesting the Attorney General to advise us if nothing will be done so that
we can apply for a right to do private prosecution if the Attorney General
declines to prosecute the rape case,” Charles Warara said in the letter
written in January this year.

Anti-corruption
team probes Zou

HARARE - The Anti-Corruption Commission has launched a
full-scale investigation into the operations of the Zimbabwe Open University
(Zou) following leads provided by a leaked document to the commission
alleging gross financial mismanagement and corruption.

Zou is a
state-owned long distance learning centre with an enrolment of over 19 000
students drawn from every district of the country.

By numbers, it is the
largest university in the country.

A report dated October 4 this year
addressed to the anti-corruption commission and copied to President Robert
Mugabe’s office, the higher education ministry and the Zimbabwe Council of
Higher Education, exposes gross financial abuses and corruption at the
institution.

“I can confirm that I received the report, record No
RR02/10/11 and investigations are in progress,” Chirindo told the Daily News
on Sunday.

According to the document, a copy of which is in the hands of
the Daily News on Sunday, Zou is alleged to have fleeced the Ministry of
Higher Education of over $700 000 which was meant to pay employees’ medical
aid insurance.According to a source, the university received $150 000 every
month from January to July this year to cover medical
insurance.

However, about $50 000 was used every month for the medical
insurance with the $100 000 unaccounted for.

There were also claims
that senior management at the institution signed huge sums of money saying
they were going for contact leave which they never fulfilled.

The
institution was prejudiced of thousands of dollars in the scam which sucked
in Vice Chancellor (VC) Primrose Kurasha.

“In January 2010, she (Kurasha)
took $27 000 apparently for a contact leave, notwithstanding the fact that
there were many questions about her entitlement to such a huge sum of money.
The point is, 10 months down the line she has not gone for a contact leave,”
read the report.

Contact leave is a university to university academic
exchange programme designed to help staff share experiences and challenges
in their profession.

The report further claims that the VC forced Zou
staffers to pay $95 000 as shortfall to a local medical aid insurer (name
provided) for the airlifting of her husband to get medical treatment in
South Africa last year.

In 2010, the report stated that $38 000 went
missing under some mysterious circumstances.

“When external auditors
came, in April 2011, in order to cover up the missing amount, the finance
director instructed some of her staff to use dummy vouchers which cancelled
voucher numbers of aborted trips. As a result, the external auditors failed
to pick out the missing money,” read part of the report.

The
financial director, Perpertual Masvikeni Ndekwere is alleged to have fleeced
Zou of $6 000 in false claims.

In August this year, Zou was allegedly
fleeced when human resources director Benjamin Mafunga allegedly ordered a
new employer of an ex-Zou worker who left the university’s employ without
giving adequate notice, to pay a fine of $3 150 in his personal
account.

Another letter written to the ministry on November 15, also
alleges the financial director, together with the registrar at the
institution, claimed $1 700 each to go on contact leave to the University of
South Africa (Unisa) but they only went to South Africa for three days as a
cover-up.

In 2009, the institution, on a 50-50 joint venture with a
private company, established Zou-Online, which also employed Zou officials
as directors.

The officials ended up getting double pay as they were
earning as much as $7 000 a month at the new ventureStudents were
required to pay $50 per semester for Zou Online and when it was disbanded in
2010, $65 000 and three vehicles went missing, according to an audit
report.

Zou workers told the Daily News on Sunday that they were dismayed
by the manner in which the university’s affairs were being
run.

“Several workers who have been dismissed have won their cases at the
labour court and Zou has kept on appealing against the judgements, some of
them already quantified.

“These workers are suffering right now. They
have ‘unfairly’ lost their jobs and they are not compensated. Imagine the
situation?” said one disgruntled worker.

Varsity
loses $20 000 in 20 cent labour fight

HARARE - Zimbabwe Open
University (Zou) which is battling corruption, has lost $5 000 in legal
battles with a worker who was dismissed over an envelope worth 20
cents.

The costly matter in which an ex-Zou worker is fighting his
dismissal over an envelope has dragged on since 2006.

Zou has so far
spend over $5 000 in legal fees trying to fight off a legal case against its
ex-employee who is arguing that his dismissal was unprocedural.

In
2009 an arbitrator ordered that the institution to either compensate the
worker or reinstate him but Zou has appealed against the ruling.

The
worker who was dismissed for an envelope is diabetic and is struggling to
survive, relying on hand-outs from former workmates at Zou.

In 2006, Zou
hired retired High Court judge H. B Hwacha to conduct an internal
disciplinary hearing but after looking into the matter, Hwacha refused to
preside over it saying it was a trivial issue which did not warrant such an
elaborate process.

Zou later hired a prosecutor to preside over the
matter which was later sent to the labour court.

It’s a rare sight but a sure sign that something big is on its way
to Bulawayo.

President Robert Mugabe’s Zanu PF party is set to hold
its annual conference in the city this week and it has been getting a
spruce-up.

For the next coming five days a boom in business is expected
in Bulawayo which is usually quiet, as more than 6 000 Zanu PF delegates
from all corners of the country will descend on the city.

An
uncharacteristic buzz has already engulfed the city.

A musical gala has
also been set for Saturday the last day of the meeting at White City stadium
in Pelandaba high density suburb. Some of the country’s top musicians are
expected to grace the occasion.

All hotels and lodges in and around
Bulawayo are already fully booked for the duration of the former ruling
party’s meeting.

“We are fully booked my friend for the next six days, we
have no single room for you until after the Zanu PF conference, if you want
accommodation check with us next week,” a staff member at one of Bulawayo’s
biggest hotel told this reporter.

When the Daily News on Sunday
visited Zimbabwe International Trade Fair (ZITF) grounds on Friday afternoon
workers were seen putting final touches on Hall Four where the party’s
conference will be held.

Security has also been tightened at all the
entrances to the ZITF grounds with party flags and President Robert Mugabe’s
posters plastered at every corner.

Back in the city centre, Sydney
Mangena a manager at one of Bulawayo’s top class restaurants was busy
receiving his last stock from his suppliers in preparation for the big
event.

“We are expecting big business, this will be our time to make
money. During the MDC congress in April we had a boom in sales and we expect
that to happen again,” said Mangena.

Popular nightclubs in the city
centre have also been renovated and were putting their final touches on
Friday.Ladies of the night are also lining up for business.

“We can’t
wait for the event, this is time for real business, our prices will also be
higher because of the big guys who don’t hesitate to splash money will be in
town,” said a commercial sex worker who identified herself as
Sinikiwe.

The lead up to the conference has also courted
controversy.

Deputy Mayor of Bulawayo Amen Mpofu is said to have clashed
with city Mayor Patrick Thaba-Moyo over the decision to resurface roads that
will be used by President Mugabe when he rolls into town.

One such
road is the Bulawayo Airport road.

Mpofu described as unfortunate a move
by the local authority to prioritise the refurbishment of roads to be used
by Mugabe and other Zanu-PF delegates during the party’s
conference.

The Bulawayo City Council has been busy refurbishing Airport
Road and Robert Mugabe Way which leads to the ZITF.

It is the same
route that Mugabe uses whenever he comes to the city on other engagements
such as the ZITF.

The local authority has also been fixing street lights,
robots and road markings on the respective roads.

The Daily News on
Sunday could not establish whether the Zimbabwe National Road Authority
(Zinara) had financed the project.

Responding to inquiries by Daily News
on Sunday on how much the local authority had budgeted for the sprucing up
of the road networks leading to Zanu PF’s conference venue, the deputy Mayor
said the money should have been used to upgrade other city roads that don’t
even have tar and are full of pot holes.

“There is no need for the
council to be doing that and prioritising only that road when other roads
that are used by residents on a daily basis are in urgent need of
attention.

“It is unfortunate that the council is doing so to please
Zanu-PF people who are coming here for a few days yet ignoring other roads
that need urgent attention. As a resident, it feels like city residents who
foot the council’s bills are not important compared to delegates attending
the conference,” Mpofu said in interview.

Bulawayo Mayor, Thaba-Moyo
could not be reached for comment.

This is the second time in a year that
council has been jerked into refurbishing Airport Road and Mugabe Way to
ensure potholed-free route for the President, his large entourage and
supporters.

In April prior to the annual ZITF, Zinara directed the
Bulawayo City Council to quickly resurface the road to be used by Mugabe
when he visited the city and released $300 000 for the project.

Pyrrhic
victory for Mugabe - the unwanted presidential candidate

Zanu-PF is stuck with President Robert Mugabe. The
party is set to endorse the ailing 87-year-old as its candidate in the
elections next year or in 2013 against the will of most of its senior
members.

The party's annual conference starts on Tuesday and runs until
Saturday in Bulawayo - the hotbed of opposition to Mugabe's repressive
31-year rule.

Zanu-PF's controversial succession issue - which is not on
the official agenda - is likely to dominate discussions on the sidelines of
the event.

There is consensus among senior party officials that Mugabe
must retire before the next elections, but fear of the unknown has prevented
them from tackling the issue head-on.

Zanu-PF leaders had an
opportunity to deal with the matter on Wednesday in their decision-making
politburo meeting - where important issues are discussed and resolved - but
no one dared to challenge Mugabe.

Mugabe emerged unscathed and will be
given a ringing endorsement at the conference as the party's presidential
candidate.

However, senior party officials say Mugabe's triumph at the
conference will be a "pyrrhic" victory, as the same officials who endorse
him will not campaign for him as they did during the 2008
elections.

After Mugabe was endorsed in 2007, senior party officials,
mainly from the faction led by the late retired army commander, general
Solomon Mujuru, resorted to what is called bhora mudondo (literally kicking
the ball into the jungle to disrupt play).

"The reality is most
people want the president to retire but no one has the courage to break the
ice on that issue," a senior politburo member said.

"So he is going to be
endorsed at conference but then it doesn't help because the same people will
not go out after that to campaign for him. It would be like the story of
King Pyrrhus indeed, registering a victory which is as costly as
defeat."

After addressing his central committee on Thursday, the day
following the politburo meeting, Mugabe said the Bulawayo conference would
be "critical" as it would be the last gathering for Zanu-PF before the
crucial elections.

Mugabe views the next elections as a do-or-die affair,
because it will be his last electoral battle given his age and ill-health.
"It is a critical meeting that we should prepare for adequately since it is
the last conference before we go for general elections," he
said.

"The forthcoming conference more or less has the same status as our
five-year congress."

According to the Zanu-PF constitution, one of
the powers and functions of the conference is to declare the president of
the party elected at congress as the party's candidate.

In between
regular congresses the change of a presidential candidate can only be done
at an extraordinary congress. Six weeks' notice is required to convene such
a congress.

Because Mugabe was duly elected at the party's 2009 congress,
he remains Zanu-PF's presidential candidate until the next scheduled
congress in 2014, unless an extraordinary congress is convened to remove
him.

But for now senior party officials say they are stuck with Mugabe,
whom they fear will be a liability during the next elections.

The
elevation of the Bulawayo conference to a near-congress status allows
Zanu-PF to tinker with its leadership issues.

Most senior officials
wanted it to be changed to full a congress so that they could push for
leadership changes, but that bid was resisted by Mugabe and his
loyalists.

The politburo on Wednesday finalised the agenda for the
conference which include indigenisation and empowerment, land and the
economy.

Mugabe is set to officially open the conference on Thursday and
issues will then be debated on Friday and Saturday. Parties from the region
to be represented at the conference include Frelimo from Mozambique,
Angola's MPLA, Namibia's Swapo, Zambia's almost defunct Unip, Chama
Chamapinduzi of Tanzania and the ANC from South Africa.

Sata
snubs Mugabe invitation

ZAMBIA
President, Michael Sata will not attend Zanu PF’s national conference
starting in Bulawayo on Wednesday, it has emerged.

Sata, elected
Zambia President in September, was expected to be the high profile guest at
the conference which will, among other things, endorse President Robert
Mugabe as Zanu PF’s candidate for polls due early next year.

However,
Sata confirmed he would not attend the conference during a meeting held
Saturday with Mugabe on the Zambia side of the Victoria Falls resort.Foreign
Affairs Minister, Simbarashe Mumbengegwi said Sata would now be represented
at the ‘highest level’.

“It was basically a bilateral exchange of views
which also happened to be the two leaders’ first meeting since Sata took
over as President,” Mumbengegwi said of Saturday’s meeting.“It was a
very good meeting where the leaders discussed a number of issues of mutual
interest but I cannot go into detail.”

Meanwhile, Zanu PF national
commissar and information Minister, Webster Shamu said the four-day event
would confirm Mugabe as the party’s candidate for next year’s
elections.

“We are going to reaffirm the position of our last congress in
Mutare where President Mugabe was confirmed as the party’s sole candidate in
any election between the last congress and the next,” Shamu
said.

“The provinces have since affirmed that position at their
respective inter-district meetings and we intend to focus our debate on
other pressing matters such as indigenisation.”

Party chairman, Simon
Khaya Moyo said the conference would also launch preparations for the
elections demanded by Mugabe to replace the coalition government.

“We
will chart methods on how to move fast in mobilising everyone with
particular focus on young and female voters. This is a very key constituency
that should be given the utmost priority,” Moyo said.

“We are not
only interested in their vote, but also to have them play a significant part
in the country’s economy through our programmes such as the Land Reform
Exercise and indigenisation.”Some 6000 delegates are expected to attend the
conference, party officials said.

President Mugabe and his Zambian
counterpart, Mr Michael Sata, on Saturday held their first meeting since the
latter was sworn into office in September with the two leaders discussing
various issues of mutual interest.

The two-hour meeting was held at the
Royal Livingstone resort in the southern border town but details on the
deliberations were not immediately available yesterday as the two leaders
did not have a post-meeting media briefing.

The meeting came a day
after Mr Sata hosted a luncheon for former United States president Mr George
W. Bush and his wife who were in Lusaka to launch a campaign to fight
cancer.

Foreign Affairs Minister Simbarashe Mumbengegwi, who attended the
meeting, could not divulge details but said the engagement had been very
congenial."It was basically a bilateral exchange of views which also
happened to be the two leaders' first meeting since Mr Sata took over as
president.

"It was a very good meeting where the leaders discussed a
number of issues of mutual interest but I cannot go into detail," said
Mumbengegwi.He, however, revealed that Mr Sata had confirmed that he would
be represented at the highest level during the Zanu-PF Annual National
People's Conference which kicks off in Bulawayo this week.

Before
meeting Mr Sata, Robert Mugabe had addressed delegates to the Zimbabwe Local
Government Association (Zilga) annual conference held across the Zambezi
River in Victoria Falls.

Zilga is the representative body of all the
country's local authorities and came into existence in February 2010
following the merger of the then Urban Councils' Association of Zimbabwe
(Ucaz) and the Association of Rural District Councils (ARDC).

In his
speech, Mugabe urged local government leaders in both urban and rural areas
to prioritise service delivery to the people who voted them into office
instead of expending their energy fighting for personal benefits and
allowances.

"I am not saying councillors should not get appropriate
allowances; far from it. They should, however, strive to ensure that they
provide good service to citizens," said Mugabe.

He bemoaned the poor
service delivery in the country's urban centres, particularly Harare and
Chitungwiza, adding that despite limited resources, Bulawayo appeared to be
better managed than the capital city.

"We want clean cities. Bulawayo is much cleaner and
better organised than Harare. I recently visited Chitungwiza when some
Chinese eye specialists came in and there was garbage and potholes
everywhere. This does not attract tourists."Don't kill our cities,
please. Don't kill our country," said Mugabe.

He urged city councils to
draw lessons on good urban planning from places such as Singapore, Malaysia
and China, adding that there was a need to put effort into beautifying the
country's cities by upgrading infrastructure and planting trees.

"I
wonder if the local government people in Harare have ever thought of
planting trees to beautify the city. The trees we have, the jacarandas, were
planted by settlers. If you go east to places like Singapore, Malaysia and
China, there is careful urban planning," said Mugabe.

He said the
Zilga conference always afforded him the opportunity to interact with the
local government fratenity, adding that it also provided a platform for
various partners, including Government ministries and departments, to engage
in healthy and lively interaction."Government therefore appreciates the key
‘enabler role' that the local government sector plays in national
development by providing trunk infrastructure such as roads, health centres,
water and sanitation facilities.

"In addition to facilitating
activities of other sectors, local authorities are expected to assist
Central Government translate the national vision into concrete deliverables
to our people.

"It is therefore critical that local authority programmes,
as informed by the Millennium Development Goals and guided by Central
Government, should always seek to address development challenges such as
poverty, gender inequality, hunger and disease," said Mugabe.Mugabe said
Zimbabwe had posted commendable achievements in various spheres in the first
two decades of independence particularly in education, health, sanitation,
food security and rural development.

These development gains had,
however, been suddenly reversed following the imposition of illegal
sanctions against Zimbabwe by Western countries who were protesting against
the successful Land Reform Programme.

He said contrary to assertions in
the Western and local private media that the sanctions targeted only him and
other senior Government officials, they had actually brought untold
suffering to the vulnerable segments of the population.

"While the
local government sector has not been spared of the crippling impact of the
sanctions, to our credit and to the annoyance of our detractors, the
sanctions have not broken our resolve and determination to continue our
thunderous and revolutionary march towards the realisation of the cardinal
goals of the liberation struggle."

Apart from land reforms, the other
critical goal of the struggle was to economically empower the majority black
population which had been marginalised in colonial days. Mugabe said the
Government had embarked on a robust indigenisation drive that was meant to
empower people through the Community Share Ownership Trusts
scheme.

This would lead to communities deriving optimum benefits from the
exploitation of natural resources found within their respective
areas.Mugabe said the indigenisation drive was neither a joke nor an
election gimmick as claimed in some sections of the media.

"They
think we are that idiotic. We have got the land in the hands of our people
and we now want the economy in the hands of our people. Hazvisi zvemahumbwe
izvi (This is not child's play)," said Mugabe.

He called on the country's
citizens to unite behind the goal of developing the nation and urged
supporters of the different political parties to desist from
violence."Let us work, all of us, for a Zimbabwe which we all can enjoy from
Plumtree right up to Mutare and Chipinge. Let us be true owners of our
country."

Mugabe
blasts money-grabbing councillors

PRESIDENT Robert Mugabe has told local authorities to
concentrate on service delivery instead of spending their time fighting for
personal benefits and allowances.

Mugabe told a meeting of the
Zimbabwe Local Government Association (Zilga) in Victoria Falls on Saturday
that he was concerned about the deplorable state of service delivery in the
country’s towns and cities.

“I am not saying councillors should not get
appropriate allowances; far from it. They should, however, strive to ensure
that they provide good service to citizens,” Mugabe said.

Citing
Harare and Chitungwiza, Mugabe said garbage was going uncollected in most
towns with little being done to improve other infrastructure such as
roads.

“We want clean cities. Bulawayo is much cleaner and better
organised than Harare. I recently visited Chitungwiza when some Chinese eye
specialists came in and there was garbage and potholes everywhere. This does
not attract tourists."Don't kill our cities, please. Don't kill our
country," he said.

He challenged local authorities to do more to improve
the country’s cities, adding they could draw lessons on good urban planning
from places such as Singapore, Malaysia and China.

"I wonder if the
local government people in Harare have ever thought of planting trees to
beautify the city. The trees we have, the jacarandas, were planted by
settlers. If you go east to places like Singapore, Malaysia and China, there
is careful urban planning," Mugabe said.

Harare also faces a water supply
crisis with nearly 250 cases of typhoid have been treated being treated in
the city last month.

The Catholic Commission for Justice and Peace
recently warned in a statement that collapsed water and sanitation
facilities would cause "more suffering and deaths" as annual rains
begin.Nearly 250 cases of the waterborne disease typhoid have been treated
in Harare this month.

The commission urged the government declare the
water shortages a national disaster adding emergency funds were needed in
areas where people take contaminated water from drains and shallow,
makeshift wells.

Beware Of
The Chinese: Mutambara

Harare, December 03, 2011—Deputy Prime
Minister Arthur Mutambara said last Thursday government should no longer
look at Chinese as comrades but businesspeople who are interested in
expanding their markets.

China has been embraced as all- weather friends
after Zimbabwe looked East in 2004 when the western world tightened its
screws on Zimbabwe citing human rights violations and governance
deficiencies.

Addressing mining sector stakeholders, Mutambara said:
“Chinese are no longer comrades but coming as business people and sometimes
more shrewder than the Americans but let us not fight them,” Mutambara
said.

Mutambara said Zimbabwe should embrace more foreign investors other
than looking only to the east adding “the more the merrier”.

He said
government should be smarter in its dealngs with the Chinese.

China has
been engaged in barter deals with Zimbabwe providing money in exchange for
commodities.

The Chinese are financing the building of a Defence College
in return for mining diamonds in Marange.

Mutambara said the fact
that China has been bailing out countries shows that it is a big player in
the world which cannot be ignored.

China has adopted a governance neutral
approach to investment and aid on the continent at a time the west is
preaching about governance and human rights issue, Beijing has adopted a
neutral approach thereby expanding its footprint on the
continent.

Statistics show that China’s foreign direct investment (FDI)
in Africa has increased yearly by an average of 46% over the last
decade.

The stock stood at US$7, 80 billion in 2008 compared to US$ 56
million in 1996.

During the first three quarters of 2009, Chinese FDI
flows into Africa amounted to $875 million, posting an increase of almost
80% year-on-year.

This has made China a major trading partner for Africa
and it now absorbs about 10 % of the continent’s exports.In 2008, the
total bilateral trade amounted to US$114 billion of which US$52 billion
consisted of exports by Africa to China and US$62 billion of imports by
Africa from China.

Desist From
Personalities Politics: Tsvangirai Urges Ncube

Charity Mukwambo,
Plumtree, December 0 4, 2011-Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai on Saturday
attacked the leader of the smaller faction of the MDC, Welshman Ncube for
pursuing personal vendettas against him.

Addressing thousands of his
MDC-T supporters in the border town of Plumtree, Tsvangirai said Ncube and
his party should focus on bread and batter issues rather than tongue lash
him at their party’s rallies.

“Zvinobatsireiko kuramba uchingoti
Tsvangirai, Tsvangirai every day. How can you practice politics of
personalities? We want politics of issues,” said the Prime Minister
referring to Ncube’s recent attacks on him.

The Prime Minister said his
party is the only political party in the country which takes people’s
concerns seriously and has managed to unite all the ethnic groups in the
country.

“Look at what we have done in the inclusive government. When the
inclusive government was formed in 2009, our national budget was $US1
billion but the budget has grown to $US4 billion. Our inflation now is the
lowest in the world. Next year we are also going to launch the Health
Transition Fund which will allow pregnant women and children to access
health services free of charge in government health
institutions”.

Tsvangirai also revealed that all the three principals in
the inclusive government have agreed to find a mechanism which will allow
Zimbabweans in the Diaspora especially those in South Africa and Botswana to
vote during the next elections which the Prime Minister hinted might be held
next year.

The Premier also castigated the indigenisation
programme.

“Jobs are not created by taking over Paul’s firm and give it
to Peter. We have to increase the size of the cake. We need to have an
enabling environment which attracts investment from both inside and outside
the country. This is where we differ with Zanu-PF,” he said.

CIO
in dagger-fight

HARARE - In a spell-binding case, two suspended senior Central
Intelligence Organisation (CIO) operatives have dragged the dreaded spy
agency to court, demanding re-instatement on the basis that there is no law
in Zimbabwe governing the operations of the organisation.

The
extremely rare case is likely to re-ignite national debate around the
security sector, as well as the desperate need for reforms in these shadowy
and much abused structures.

CIO chief administration officer David
Nyabando and chief transport officer Ricky Manwere were suspended in 1998
from the spy agency over a Z$17 million fraud that they allegedly
committed.

The CIO alleges that Nyabando and Manwere defrauded the state
of cash that was supposed to be used for building “safe houses”.

On
their part, the two officers insist that they built the safe houses but were
pushed out of the spy agency in controversial circumstances.

Nyabando and
Manwere were jointly charged with Lovemore Mukandi, the former deputy
director-general of the CIO — who was arrested at the airport in September
this year after his deportation from Canada.

Mukandi has since been freed
by the courts.

Mukandi and his boss, Shadreck Chipanga, former Zanu PF MP
for Makoni East, were dismissed from the spy agency in 1999.

They
were replaced by the current director-general Happyton Bonyongwe and Retired
Brigadier Elisha Muzonzini, respectively.

Bonyongwe is the first
respondent in this case.

Following their suspension on October 6, 1998,
the spy agency failed to call the officers for a hearing.

The two
officers approached the High Court in 2005 seeking a declaratory order that
their suspension from duty was unlawful, null and void and that the
inordinately long time it had taken authorities to hear their case breached
provisions of section 18(9) of the Constitution of Zimbabwe which states
that: “Every person is entitled to be afforded a fair hearing within a
reasonable time.”

They also want to be re-instated to their posts and be
paid all salaries and benefits due to them with effect from the date of
suspension.

The CIO served the two officers with a convening order on
December 25, 2005 stating that a board of inquiry had been set up to look
into their allegations.

The two officers turned up with their lawyer
Albert Nyikadzino of Musunga and Associates.

But the hearing never
took place.

The two officers’ lawyer subsequently wrote to the CIO bosses
again on June 9, 2006 to seek clarity on the matter and was advised that the
disciplinary hearing would now take place on July 6, 2006.

At that
hearing, Nyikadzino stated that it was unconstitutional for the two to be
charged for misconduct in terms of the Public Service (Disciplinary)
Regulations “because Section 14(e) of the Public Service Act, Chapter 16:04
specifically excludes members of the CIO from the Public Service,” the High
Court papers say.

The papers also state that Section 113 (10) of the
Act clearly states that members of the CIO are not part of the Public
Service and cannot be disciplined under any law in Zimbabwe.

The CIO
board of inquiry, headed by the director of administration, disagreed and
postponed the hearing so that the two officers could make an application to
the Supreme Court to ascertain if that was the correct position at
law.The Supreme Court, sitting as a constitutional court, concurred that the
CIO was not regulated by any Zimbabwean law.

“It is, therefore, clear
beyond any doubt that the applicants, being members of the CIO, were not
part of the Public Service and were not governed by the Act and the
Regulations,” says the October 15, 2007 Supreme Court
ruling.

“Accordingly, the disciplinary procedure set out in the
regulations did not apply to them. Consequently, the board set up by the
CIO, purportedly in terms of the regulations was not covered by the
expression ‘other adjudicating authority established by law’ in Section
18(9) of the Constitution, as it was not set up in terms of any law
governing the members of the CIO.”

The officers’ lawyer then wrote to
the Civil Division of the Attorney General’s Office stating that the effect
of the Supreme Court ruling was that the operatives were still in the employ
of the spy agency and were supposed to be paid all their salaries and
allowances from the date of the suspension.

Despite the unequivocal
position at law, the CIO again advised on January 12, 2009 that there was to
be another disciplinary board of inquiry that had been scheduled for
Chaminuka Building on February 5, 2009.

The CIO officers’ lawyer wrote
back stating it was practically impossible for Nyabando and Manwere to be
dragged before a disciplinary board of inquiry which is illegally
constituted.

The two CIO officers then simultaneously turned to the
courts again seeking to interdict the spy agency from convening the board of
inquiry.

On October 26, 2010, the two officers approached the High Court
seeking a final draft order to be re-instated, saying their suspension was
null and void and that the CIO was not entitled to hold any inquiry into the
alleged acts of misconduct.

The CIO director-general, Bonyongwe,
delegated his deputy Mernard Muzariri, now late, to sign the opposing
affidavit.

The officers’ lawyers then threatened in a letter to the Civil
Division of the AG’s Office that the CIO affidavit created a basis for
filing criminal charges against what they said was “forging or
misrepresentation of the affidavit”.

The AG’s office wrote to the CIO
on 13 December, 2010, to pursue an out of court settlement.

Instead
of pursuing an out of court settlement as advised by the government lawyers,
the CIO filed a second set of opposing papers in the High Court, this time
the deponent being Muzariri.

But again the papers did not bear Muzariri’s
signature.

The CIO was again advised on January 27 this year, that the
papers they had lodged had “forged signatures” as well.The CIO waited
until Muzariri died.

After Muzariri died, they filed an application to
say they were seeking condonation to allow them time to file a third set of
opposing papers.

Mushonga
Fires Tirade At Deputy Speaker

Nompumelelo Moyo, Bulawayo, December
04, 2011 - The Welshman Ncube led Movement for Democratic Change’s (MDC)
Priscilla Musihairabwi Mushonga last Friday fired a barrage on deputy
speaker of parliament Nomalanga Khumalo and other MPs that support
her.

On Friday Khumalo, two other MPs and two senators allegedly defected
from the MDC led by Ncube to join a splinter MDC led by Deputy Prime
Minister Arthur Mutambara.

On Thursday More than 20 MPs walked out of Parliament in protest
over the alleged expulsion of Khumalo from her party.

The MPs walked
out while Ncube was moving a motion that the National Incomes and Pricing
Commission Bill be restored on the Order Paper after it could not be debated
in the previous session of Parliament.

The irate Zanu-PF and MDC-T MPs
refused to listen to Ncube’s submissions and interjected, calling him a
“party-less president who had no members in his party as he had fired
several of them”.

Speaking at a public dialogue meeting organized by
Bulawayo Agenda, Musihairabwi Mushonga came out guns blazing and did not
mince her words as she insisted that party cadres must stick by the party’s
value system at all times.

“If we sit here and say you belong to a
political party, then we must agree that you have to do things according to
the party’s value system. How do you explain that a member of a political
party, elected on that party’s ticket, stands up and insults its (party)
president?

“I don’t care if you are a woman, you are gay or you are
transgender, the point is that you have to stick with your party’s rules,”
she said.

Condemning the walk out on Thursday, Musihairabwi Mushonga said
she was disappointed that most of those MPs that walked out of Ncube are
from Matabeleland.“Today, because the (MDC -T) and Zanu- PF held hands
and jeered, it is good. Let us stick to that even tomorrow,” she said.

The
Canadian firm's remarks come at a time when President Mugabe has told
foreign companies that are not comfortable with the black empowerment drive
to leave the country.The Toronto and London-listed gold mining company
which owns Blanket Mine in Gwanda was this week quoted by Mining Weekly as
vowing not to cede 51 percent stake as prescribed by law.Caledonia chief
executive officer Mr Stefan Hayden said his company did not intend to
finalise a sale of its shares to locals until the run-up to elections.Mr
Hayden said the policy was "a political football game at the moment".

"If
Zanu-PF plays the indigenisation card now, then, come the elections, there
is nothing left to play," he was quoted as saying.Mr Hayden said
negotiations on his company's indigenisation plan "will continue until
before the elections".

Caledonia looks forward to producing at least 40
000 ounces of gold next year.Zanu-PF yesterday advised the firm to
comply with the law, saying the indigenisation programme was
unstoppable.

"All companies are expected to comply with the
indigenisation law. We are not politicking."We are empowering our people
and this has been demonstrated by the Chegutu-Mhondoro-Ngezi-Zvimba and Unki
Mine Community Share Ownership Trusts," said Zanu-PF spokesperson Cde Rugare
Gumbo.

Caledonia has always been on a collision course with
Government.Its mining licence was briefly cancelled mid this year after the
company failed to submit an acceptable indigenisation plan.

Mr Hayden
flew into the country following the cancellation of the licence and engaged
Minister Kasukuwere.Government lifted the cancellation after the firm
pledged to provide a revised economic empowerment plan compliant with the
Indigenisation and Economic Empowerment Act.

Launching the Tongogara
Community Share Ownership Trust at Anglo-American Corporation-owned Unki
Mine recently, President Mugabe said of defiant companies: "This (black
economic empowerment) is our policy. We do not hide it. We want empowerment
for our people. Vanenge vasingade, we say go now, if not yesterday."

Zimbabwe
plane seized over debt

Zimbabwe's debt-ridden national carrier, Air Zimbabwe, plunged
deeper into crisis after a South African company seized one of its planes
over an outstanding debt.

Air Zimbabwe's Boeing 737-500, one of the
airline's short-haul planes, was impounded at OR Tambo International Airport
just after landing from Harare on Friday.

The aircraft, the only
operational aircraft for Air Zimbabwe after all of its planes were grounded
last week, was scheduled to return to Harare and pick up passengers flying
to Bulawayo and Victoria Falls.

However, officials from Bid Air Services
detained the plane and parked a lorry behind the aircraft to block
it.

Bid Air demanded payment of $500000 for ground-handling services,
which Air Zimbabwe had neglected to pay.

An Air Zimbabwe
representative, based at the national airline's offices at OR Tambo , and an
engineer who had flown to Johannesburg transferred passengers to the
departure lounge and personally picked up baggage from the plane after Bid
Air Services declined to provide the service.

President Robert Mugabe was
scheduled to fly to Victoria Falls yesterday to open a conference organised
by the Zimbabwe Local Government Association.

Officials at Air Zimbabwe
were desperately trying to negotiate with Bid Air Services for the release
of the company's only operational plane, so as not to embarrass
Mugabe.

The airplane was later released and returned to Harare after Bid
Air agreed give Air Zimbabwe until Tuesday to pay.

With the
sun setting as early as 4 pm and our unusually warm autumn weather giving way to
winter, we at the Vigil need everything we can get to cheer us up as we stand
out in the cold. One of the posters in the Embassy window did the trick. Part of
the ‘Wonders of Zimbabwe’ tourist promotion campaign, it read ‘Wonder what our
cultural ceremonies are like?’ We couldn’t help but think of Tsvangirai’s on-off
wedding.

But a
canvass of opinion among Vigil supporters showed that the affair was more than a
laughing matter. People were alarmed that Tsvangirai appears to have walked
blindly into a Zanu PF trap and has become a laughing stock. There were nods of
agreement when someone said ‘Angagotonga seyi nyika ari mumagumbeze?’ (How can
he rule the country when he’s always in bed?)

Although
there is respect for the Prime Minister’s heroic work leading the MDC for the
past twelve years, it was felt that he should – as the saying goes – consider
his position. Zanu PF has been paralysed by its inability to renew its
leadership. The MDC should not make the same mistake. We believe there is no
shortage of talent in the MDC and, with elections unlikely in the foreseeable
future, there would be time for a new leader to make his mark.

But
somehow we doubt Tsvangirai will make way. One of the Prime Minister’s
characteristics was suggested in another poster in the Embassy’s advertising
campaign: ‘Wonder what an elephant’s skin feels like?’ . .
.

Other
points

·Thanks to
Abdul Conteh from the Gambia who spent the afternoon (in the Embassy doorway)
restringing and tuning our drums with great skill. The resultant sound was a
revelation. It attracted a member of the anti-bankers protest group which has
been camping outside St Paul’s Cathedral, who joined in the dancing and said she
wished we could go drumming at St Paul’s.

·The Vigil
was joined by an activist from the DRC carrying a placard reading ‘Stop the rape
in the DRC’. He said he supported us because Mugabe supported President Kabila.
‘He is a killer like Mugabe,’ he said.

·Representatives of the Vigil were invited to attend an event in
London this week to launch a new book on Zimbabwe ‘Catastrophe – what went wrong
in Zimbabwe?’ The author, Richard Bourne, is senior research fellow at the
Institute of Commonwealth Studies, London University. He said he followed our
activities through reading the Vigil diary. As for the book, Professor Stephen
Chan, an authority on Zimbabwe, said ‘there will not be a better account of
Zimbabwe for some time to come’.

·Vigil
supporters were reminded of a special event at the Vigil on Saturday
10th December. We are to be joined by the Zimbabwe Europe Network to
mark UN International Human Rights Day. Two speakers from Zimbabwe civil
society will be coming: Gideon Shoko, Deputy
Secretary General, Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions, and Fadzai Muparutsa of
Gays and Lesbians of Zimbabwe.

For latest Vigil pictures check: http://www.flickr.com/photos/zimbabwevigil/.
Please note: Vigil photos can only be downloaded from our Flickr website – they
cannot be downloaded from the slideshow on the front page of the Zimvigil
website.

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The Vigil, outside
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